PAYT Bulletin: Fall 2004

Kansas City Phases Out the Garbage Fairy

Before Kansas City, Missouri, began implementing PAYT in March
2004, its 442,000 residents were used to throwing away as much trash
as they wanted, no strings attached. In 1970, the city passed a
1 percent city income tax, and offered residents unlimited garbage
collection in perpetuity in exchangea concession that led
to the widespread illusion that garbage collection was a "free"
service. Despite this and other hurdles, Kansas City took advantage
of PAYT's flexibility and implemented a system that is projected
to save the city nearly $2 million per year once it reaches full
implementation this December.

According to John Stufflebean, Kansas City's director of environmental
management, the "free collection" illusion created by
rolling garbage disposal fees into city taxes prevented the city
from moving to an entirely fee-based structure for garbage collection,
lest it face a revolt. To provide more equitable waste disposal
while still honoring its tax-based commitment to residents, Kansas
City chose to adopt what Stufflebean refers to as a "hybrid"
PAYT system.

Each week, residents can dispose of up to two bags of trash, which
are paid for under the tax-funded collection promise. If residents
need to dispose of additional trash, they may purchase a $1 trash
tag at local retailers for each additional bag. To help residents
meet the two-bag limit, Kansas City launched the "Recycle First"
program, providing residents with free, unlimited recyclables collection.
City administrators established a bi-weekly recycling collection
schedule, based on survey that revealed that residents visited the
city's recycling drop-off centers an average of once every two weeks.

The "free garbage" myth was not the only barrier Kansas
City faced on the road to PAYT implementation. PAYT advocates also
faced low motivation for change within the government. The city
had historically been blessed with low landfill costsunder
$20 per tongiving city leaders little reason to look for potential
cost savings through MSW reorganization. However, by 2003, Kansas
City's era of low tipping fees was coming to an end. The city's
landfill contract was up for renegotiation, and with the amount
of available landfill space shrinking, the price was bound to go
up.

"We're in a budget crisis like everyone else," said Stufflebean,
"and trash costs were just killing us."

City officials knew that recycling was one way to reduce landfill
costs, but without an incentive for residents to recycle, they felt
that there would be no motivation for the public to respond. So
how could Kansas City get residents to recycle and reduce its garbage
bill? PAYT!

Thoughtful Implementation
To ease the logistical burden on the city, officials introduced
PAYT in phases. One-third of the city began PAYT on March 1, followed
the second third on September 1. The remaining third of the city
will be introduced to PAYT in December.

Before beginning implementation, the city conducted extensive outreach
efforts, including meetings in neighborhoods, discussions in city
council meetings, and distribution of brochures explaining the Recycle
First and PAYT systems. As a result, residents haven't been caught
off-guard when their turn to switch to PAYT comes.

Despite the drastic change from the "all-you-can-throw-away"
model, Stufflebean says the city receives few complaints once the
program is up and running. Most of the calls they receive are in
the weeks leading up to implementation of the program within a given
area.

"People tend to call before they get the program. They don't
think they can make the two-bag limit. But once they get [PAYT],
they find out that it just isn't that hard," said Stufflebean.

Implementation has been smoother in some areas than others, reports
Stufflebean. For instance, the city's urban corecomposed of
older, less affluent neighborhoods with high rental populationshas
been particularly difficult. But the city isn't giving up. Instead,
Kansas City is redoubling its outreach efforts by placing radio
messages and reaching out to community groups and churches to spread
the word about PAYT.

Because the primary goal in adopting PAYT was to reduce disposal
costs, Kansas City found ways to reduce costs during the implementation
of its recycling program as well. Rather than distributing recycling
bins to residents, the city partnered with PriceChopper supermarkets
and Westlake Ace Hardware to distribute recycling bins. The city
mailed vouchers to residents, who then exchanged them for recycling
bins at the retailers. By doing so, and shifting the shipping, storage,
and distribution costs to the retailers, the city reduced its implementation
costs by an estimated $1 million. In return, the retailers got customers
into their stores-a clientele the retailers will keep when residents
return to purchase supplemental trash tags.

Promising (and Profitable) Results
With two-thirds of the city now a part of the PAYT program, Stufflebean
reports that residents have been able to "make it" to
the two-bag limit, and less. Despite pre-implementation doubts,
the average PAYT household has only had to purchase two additional
tags. Currently, about 50 percent of PAYT residents are setting
out their recycling bins, and trash generation in PAYT areas has
decreased by 30 percent. According to Stufflebean, recycling accounts
for some 25 percent of the decrease, while the remaining 5 percent
is due to residents' efforts at source reduction.

That 30 percent reduction in garbage volume will save the city
money at the landfill, but PAYT implementation is proving to be
a thrifty strategy in other ways as well. With residents working
hard to put all of their trash in two bags, collectors no longer
need to round up a bevy of bags, cans, and loose items. Instead,
they only need to toss two neat bags in the back of the truck. The
increased efficiency means that areas where 12 routes were needed
are now down to nine routes, resulting in reduced labor costs as
well as less wear and tear on machinery. The city government shares
collection duties with an outside contractor, and that contract
is also up for renewal. Since it will have to pay its contractor
for less routes, the city will once again be able to cash in on
its switch to PAYT.

Between the reduced collection costs and savings on landfill costs,
Stufflebean estimates that the city will save some $2 million per
year by switching to PAYT. With less trash in the landfill, more
residents recycling, and a lot more money in city coffers, PAYT
has proven successful not only for the environment, but for the
Kansas City's bottom line as well.

St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Protects the Earth
with PAYT
Rural Reservation Can Serve as PAYT Role
Model

Across the nation, many small, rural communities are struggling
to close open dumps, begin curbside collection programs, and build
transfer stations or landfills that meet federal regulations. Too
often, solid waste planners in these communities quickly dismiss
PAYT as an option because they believe residents will resort to
illegal dumping if they are required to pay disposal fees. Many
rural communities are also economically disadvantaged, and solid
waste planners feel that residents who are struggling to make ends
meet will not place solid waste management near the top of their
list of priorities.

Laura Weber, director of solid waste management for the St. Regis
Mohawk Tribe, disagrees. The St. Regis Mohawk Reservation, located
in upstate New York, spans 21 square miles and is home to approximately
2,700 people. Since 2002, when the reservation began its PAYT program,
the tribe has served as a shining example to other rural communities-proving
that PAYT can work just as well in rural America as it can in the
small towns and suburbs. Ms. Weber attributes the program's success
to proper planning and extensive community involvement. In fact,
the tribe implemented PAYT in response to requests from community
members.

Soliciting Input from the CommunityDuring the early 1990s, reservation residents expressed dissatisfaction
with current waste disposal options. At the time, private waste
haulers provided curbside collection services for a flat fee. Residents
felt that the fee was too high and complained to the Tribal Council
and the Environment Division. Rather than continue down the road
of tradition, the tribe chose to confront the issue head-on in an
effort to protect the environment and reducing the tribe's disposal
costs. In 1994, the tribe hired a consultant to conduct a solid
waste management feasibility study-the first step in the creation
of a model rural PAYT program.

The consultant visited 100 homes and approximately 100 businesses,
asking residents and business owners to identify solid waste management
concerns by completing a survey. Survey respondents believed that
waste haulers charged too much, did not provide dependable service,
and failed to recycle materials that residents set aside for recycling.
The survey also revealed that some residents used open dumps to
avoid paying the haulers. These individuals recognized the health
and environmental issues associated with open dumps and backyard
burning and wanted to protect the Earth, but could not afford to
pay the private waste haulers. They asked the tribe to provide an
affordable alternative. Thus, community members called for the tribe
to implement PAYT, as it would allow them to control disposal costs
through waste prevention and recycling.

The tribe used grants to launch its PAYT program, which is currently
self-sufficient, and worked hard to make the program affordable
and accessible. Customers simply purchase special trash bags from
the St. Regis Mohawk Solid Waste Community Service Agency. A box
of five bags costs $10. A special logo adorns the light blue bags,
which are easy to distinguish from ordinary trash bags, and tribal
employees collect the blue bags from each household once a week.
Residents can deposit glass, aluminum, steel, plastic, and paper
materials at the tribe's recycling depot. In addition to making
the PAYT system easy to use, the tribe boosted participation rates
by incorporating education and other elements into its solid waste
management program.

Sustaining PAYT: Using an Integrated Approach
to Achieve SuccessTo discourage illegal dumping, build support for PAYT, and
create a sustainable solid waste management program, the tribe drafted
a solid waste management code, established a new agency dedicated
to solid waste, conducted education and outreach, and set up monitoring
and enforcement procedures. This integrated approach paid off. "Backyard
open dumping decreased, and many members of the community elected
to participate in our PAYT program," said Weber.

Weber believes that education and outreach is critical to the success
of any solid waste management program. Before launching PAYT, the
St. Regis Mohawk Solid Waste Community Service Agency mailed brochures
detailing the benefits of the new collection program. The tribe
also recruited customers by educating community members on the solid
waste management code, which includes a ban on open dumping. Tribal
employees visited residents that continued to dump illegally and
explained the hazards of open dumps. Most of the dumpers agreed
to pick up their waste and begin using the PAYT program.

Weber also credits constant monitoring with augmenting program
success. "We didn't have any firm data on waste generation
rates before PAYT, but now we are collecting data every single day
of the week," she said. "We analyze trends and identify
potential problems before they cause headaches." Soon after
implementing PAYT, for example, the tribe discovered that residents
were not recycling as much as possible. Tribal employees conducted
extensive education on waste prevention and recycling, resulting
in a jump in the recycling rate of glass bottles, steel cans, aluminum
cans, and plastic bottles. In 2003, community members recycled 25
tons of these items along with 50 tons of mixed paper.

Through waste prevention and recycling, residents significantly
reduced their waste generation rates. PAYT allowed them to reap
the benefits of their conservation efforts. Each month, PAYT households
on the reservation spend $10 to $15 less on waste management than
households that subscribe to the services of private haulers.

Weber believes that PAYT can work in other rural communities if
residents realize the importance of proper waste disposal and understand
that PAYT can keep disposal costs under control. She cautions other
tribes and small communities, however, that a successful PAYT program
might not happen overnight. One tribe in Wisconsin, for example,
implemented PAYT and experienced an initial increase in illegal
dumping on the reservation. "It is critical to plan adequately
and address the needs and wants of your community," said Weber,
who urges tribes and rural communities to garner community support
before beginning PAYT and to take an integrated approach to waste
management.

The 4,100 residents of the small town of Torrelles de Llobregat,
Spain, became the first Spanish residents to use PAYT in their hometown.
Since 2002, Torrelles de Llobregat, part of the metropolitan area
of Barcelona, has increased its recycling rate from 45 to 83 percentthanks
to a PAYT program developed specially for the town. Now, the town
council can boast not only of waste reduction, but also of a growing
number of visits to the local recycling center, the improving separation
of the collected materials, and happier citizens.

The initiative to change the existing waste management system came
from several concerned local residents. As in most Spanish municipalities,
the households of Torrelles de Llobregat paid a fixed annual fee
of 62.50 Euros (approximately $80) for year-round trash collection
and recycling. However, homes that generated less waste felt that
the system was unfair, and looked for a way to decrease their payments.

People's dissatisfaction with existing practices prompted the local
environmental council to look for alternatives. The council members
discovered that PAYT programs used in Italy, Belgium, and the United
States have been dealing with similar problems for years and achieved
notable success. The council figured that a compact urban city like
Torrelles de Llobregat could be a promising PAYT location. The town
invested 30,600 Euros (approximately $39,000) to announce the user
fee-based method and spent 18,000 Euros ($23,000) to design the
city's collection and fiscal system.

During the first year of implementing the PAYT program, costs skyrocketed
to the delight of its critics. But the decision to integrate the
new program into existing practices helped smooth the sharp edges
of the transition period. Instead of a flat fee, residents of Torrelles
de Llobregat now pay a variable fee for 40 percent of the total
waste collection costs. Another 40 percent of the expenses are covered
by a 35-Euro ($40) tax, and 20 percent is covered by the municipal
budget-much like in previous years. In addition, biowaste, paper
and cardboard, diapers, and glass are collected for free. All other
waste?mostly packaging and refuse?goes into trash bags sold by the
environmental council at 17 local stores. Income from bag sales
keeps the flat collection fee half of what it was before implementing
the PAYT program. Thanks to the new system, the people of Torrelles
de Llobregat no longer feel cheated when they see more trash bags
near their neighbor's door than at their own.

To pay or pay-as-you-throw for household waste is not a rhetorical
question to the people of the Czech Republic. According to a new
book entitled, To PAY(T) or not to PAY(T) for Household Waste:
Results of Statistical Surveys in the Czech Republic, Czechs
have substantial experience in developing and implementing PAYT
programs. Just a few years ago, however, the country's laws did
not support the PAYT initiatives of the municipalities. Worse still,
the Chamber of Deputies (the Czech Parliament) passed a law that
obligated local authorities to establish a flat fee for waste collection
if they decided to charge at all for this service. The law came
into effect in January 2002 and essentially undermined local attempts
to find innovative ways to deal with municipal waste.

By 2003 Czech legislators realized that their regulations were
at odds with major recycling efforts not only in their own country,
but the world. The 2003 amendment to the existing law allowed Czech
cities to design various rate systems based on local conditions
and experience. "Currently, we are at another breakpoint, and
it is extremely interesting to analyze how the municipalities in
the Czech Republic deal with waste collection and recycling as well
as examine the attitude of individual households," commented
Petr Sauer, one of the book's authors and head of the Department
of Environmental Economics at the University of Economics in Prague.

In collaboration with his colleagues and co-authors of the book,
Mr. Sauer conducted statistical surveys and analyses of the country's
waste management practices. The book contains highlights of this
work, carried out under the aegis of an international project called
"Variable Rate Pricing based on Pay-As-You-Throw as a Tool
of Urban Waste Management," and sponsored by the European Commission.

To PAY(T) or not to PAY(T) mainly focuses on the
economic aspects of PAYT. Using a wealth of statistical data, the
authors investigate PAYT's potential to bring household waste to
a minimum and to maximize its separation under typical urban conditions.
For example, Czech researchers found that people who live in PAYT
communities produce less total waste: 240 kg (529 lbs) versus 260
kg (573 lbs) per person annually. In addition, Czech municipalities
with PAYT programs show some improvement in waste separation. Per
year, they separate 29 kg (63 lbs) of waste per capita in comparison
to only 18 kg (40 lbs) in municipalities without PAYT.

The book also covers how a Prague household handles trash and
a survey of waste management operations in selected Czech cities.

To PAY(T) or not to PAY(T) for Household Waste: Results of Statistical
Surveys in the Czech Republic by Petr auer is available from
the Department of Environmental Economics, University of Economics
in Prague. To order a copy, contact sauer@vse.cz.

With a recycling participation rate of more than 90 percent, it's
easy to see that the residents of Fort Collins, Colorado, are concerned
about the environment. Since 1996, the city has operated under a
PAYT ordinance; however, until recently, at least 10,000 residents-approximately
19 percent of the city's population-were not offered the opportunity
to utilize PAYT.

A loophole in the policy language allowed homeowner associations
(HOAs) to consider themselves commercial accounts, which are exempt
from the ordinance. In these neighborhoods, the residents did not
have PAYT as an option. When Wendy Studinski moved into a neighborhood
where the HOA mandated the waste collection services, she was astounded
at the amount of garbage produced. Each home had to subscribe to
a 96-gallon-per-week service-and even received an extra 33-gallon
container for overflow. Since there were no financial consequences
for extra volume, Studinski consistently noticed mountains of trash.
As a household of one, she created significantly less waste than
some of her neighbors.

To encourage her HOA to change its solid waste policy, Studinski
presented information about PAYT and its waste diversion incentives
at the Board of Directors meetings. To help illustrate how much
waste can be diverted with incentives to recycle or reduce, she
brought in a garbage bag with the amount of trash she created each
week. "Our HOA Treasurer actually called me a liar," Studinski
said, "saying that it was impossible to have that little trash."

While Studinski has always been conscientious about reducing waste
and recycling, she knew her neighbors could be too. Since the HOA
was not amenable to making changes on its own, she turned her efforts
to changing the city ordinance and attended several City Council
meetings. As it turned out, Susie Gordon of the city of Fort Collins
was already in the process of updating the PAYT ordinance.

The city proposed to amend the ordinance by specifying that all
single-family and two-family residences in Fort Collins fall under
unit-based trash rates, including those in group accounts such as
HOAs. To further ensure that each household knows about their options
to save money through PAYT, haulers are required to list all service
prices when bidding for contracts with HOAs and other group accounts.
Also, the haulers must publicize unit-based prices to individual
residents who participate in group accounts, allowing them to choose
their level of service.

Fort Collins welcomed public involvement throughout the amendment
process. To gather public comment, the city sent letters to interested
parties, made phone calls, ran newspaper advertisements, and held
meetings. In particular, the city requested feedback from HOAs,
property management companies, and trash haulers.

After the PAYT ordinance update, Studinski's HOA changed its waste
collection services to bring PAYT to the residents. Although they
are still signed up automatically for the 96-gallon-per-week service,
now they can choose to switch to two other levels of service. For
the standard service, per-household rates dropped more than $30
per year. Now that her neighbors are charged for waste collection
based on volume, Studinski sees less trash placed at the curb each
week.

Seeing less waste has energized Studinski; she plans to lobby her
HOA to select a waste collector offering more levels of service
and yard waste collection, and eventually see Fort Collins collect
organics throughout the city.

Like many other communities across the country, Athens, Ohio, maintains
highly successful PAYT and recycling programs. Unlike many other
PAYT communities, Athens faced an additional challenge: a majority
of the town's population is transitionalstudents from Ohio
University.

Of Athens' 21,342 residents, about 20,000 are OU students, many
of whom live off-campus in the community. Seventy percent of the
households in Athens are rental unitsthe vast majority of
which are seasonal or temporary, based on the university quarter/semester
calendar. This lack of consistency in occupancy could be expected
to be a major barrier to PAYT for many towns, but with a highly
effective outreach effort, it proved barely a speed bump to the town's
PAYT progress.

Athens has been no stranger to recycling and waste reduction measures.
In April 1984, the community became the first in the state to implement
a comprehensive curbside recycling program. That limited program
has since expanded to serve just under 90,000 residents in rural
Athens and Hocking Counties in Southeastern Ohio, including the
cities of Nelsonville and Logan and the villages of Amesville, Albany,
and The Plains.

Residents of Athens have benefited significantly from the implementation
of PAYT in 1990 and the expansion of the recycling center. Between
1997 and 2001, the amount of material diverted from landfills resulted
in a cost avoidance of approximately $500,000, and the diverted
materials were sold, resulting in nearly $1 million in revenues.
The $1.5 million net benefit to the community went towards a fitting
causelocal trash cans.

Not only does the greater community reap the benefits of PAYT,
residents also notice the positive effects on their individual pocketbooks.
Each household pays $2.50 per month for curbside recycling collection
and $5.00 per month for weekly trash collection of one 30-gallon
container of trash, or $9.50 per month for two containers. Stickers
for extra bags are $1.50 each and residents are charged $3.00 each
for untagged bags set out for collection.

The program has now expanded to include two recycling processing
facilities, cardboard collection routes, and biannual tire and appliance
roundups. The center employs 21 full-time workers with benefits
and is financially self-sustaining, deriving its funds from fees
for service and revenues generated from the sale of recyclable materials.
Though it has not been without challenges, the Athens recycling
and PAYT programs have been tremendously successful and advantageous
to all those who call Athens homeeven if it is only for four
years.

We Want to Hear from You!

EPA would like to promote YOU and your PAYT successes and
experiences. Whether you are a community just starting PAYT,
one that has been doing it for years, or anywhere in between,
we want to hear from you!

We are interested in information on new programs, program
expansions, lessons learned, challenges overcome, advice,
changes, trends, new documents or reports, community reactions,
or any other aspect of your PAYT experiences that could be
useful to others.

Please send us an email at payt@icfi.com
with your name, affiliation/community, address, phone number,
email address, and a brief synopsis of your news. Please also
let us know the population of your community and when you
started PAYT. We will contact you for more information and
include you in our online PAYT Bulletin and/or other
informational materials about PAYT. One of the benefits of
being part of a progressive, conservation-minded municipal
program is the recognition you receive. Don't pass up this
opportunity!

Spread the Word!

Please spread the word about PAYT to your neighboring communities,
association members, and others in the solid waste arena.
Because all of our correspondence will be via email from now
on, please send an email to us at payt@icfi.com
with email addresses of anyone you think would be interested
in joining our mailing list and receiving the PAYT Bulletin.